Louisiana is the second most corrupt state in the country, according to a recent study cited in Fortune magazine. Mississippi ranked first.

The article says researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Indiana University arrived at their rankings by analyzing more than 25,000 convictions of public officials for violating federal corruption laws between 1976 and 2008. They coupled the convictions data with an examination of state spending patterns "to develop a corruption index that estimates the most and least corrupt states in the union," according to the article.

In looking at spending patterns, the article said, researchers found "states with higher level corruption are likely to favor construction, salaries, borrowing, corrections and police protection, at the expense of social sectors such as education, health, and hospitals."